1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hose clamps generally and more specifically to hose clamps which can be installed by a hand operation and the hand operation automatically results tightening of the clamp.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Many prior art patents disclose various hose clamps, however of this variety, it appears from an investigation of the field, that two of these are most prevalent in use. One of these utilizes a screw arrangement for loosening and tightening the clamp as shown and discussed re the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,295. This not only necessitates the operator having a screwdriver readily available, but also the very tightening operation is difficult, for not only must the clamp be in a position where the screw is available to the operator for tightening, but the operator must hold the clamp with one hand to keep it from rotating away, while tightening the screw with the screwdriver in the other hand which frequently results in an injury when the screwdriver slips. Another prior art device utilizes a spring clamp which is, as a result of its material or configuration, normally biased to its tightly closed position. To open the spring clamp, the operator must manipulate a pair of tangs, as shown in the above mentioned patent, which is again a difficult operation as the tangs must overcome a spring tension load.